Frequently asked questions
Questions about The Active Observatory
The Active Observatory preserves dated observations of publicly visible business activity. These questions explain what the research represents, how records are maintained, and what businesses can do when information needs clarification.
Public research, explained
Understanding the record
Each answer describes the boundaries of the public research and the stewardship options available to businesses.
What is The Active Observatory?
The Active Observatory is a public research platform that observes, timestamps, preserves, and presents publicly visible business activity. Its purpose is to make changes and patterns that occur over time easier to understand.
What is an observation?
An observation is a dated record of something that was publicly visible when The Active Observatory collected it. Depending on the observation area, this may include advertising, website content, hiring activity, reviews, business messaging, Google Places information, or other publicly observable activity.
Does The Active Observatory rank businesses?
No. The Active Observatory is research without ranking. It does not score businesses as good or bad, recommend one business over another, or infer business performance from an observation.
Does an observation mean The Active Observatory knows why a business did something?
No. The Active Observatory records what was observable. It generally does not infer intent, motivation, spend, effectiveness, or business outcomes unless those facts are themselves publicly established.
Why are some businesses identified by a website domain instead of a business name?
Sometimes The Active Observatory can reliably associate observed activity with a website before it can establish a sufficiently reliable public business name. In those cases, the domain may temporarily serve as the public identity rather than presenting an uncertain name as fact.
Can information in a business record be corrected?
Yes. Business records include Record Stewardship options for reporting an incorrect match or requesting a factual correction. Corrections may clarify identity, attribution, or factual information without erasing accurately preserved historical observations.
What is an Authority Review?
An Authority Review allows a business owner or authorized representative to identify themselves, report an identity or attribution issue, and provide authoritative information about the business.
Does establishing authority allow a business to remove observations?
No. Establishing authority does not grant editorial control over independently preserved history. An Authority Review can correct identity, attribution, and factual business information, while accurately preserved observations remain part of the historical record.
How current is the information?
Business records reflect the observations The Active Observatory has collected and preserved. Coverage varies by business and observation area. Each observation includes its relevant observation date so visitors can distinguish historical information from more recent activity.
Does The Active Observatory monitor every activity of every business?
No. The repository is an increasingly complete collection, not a claim of exhaustive monitoring. The absence of an observation does not establish that an activity did not occur.
Where does the information come from?
The Active Observatory collects information from publicly accessible sources. Individual observation records provide details about what was observed and, where appropriate, links to the public source associated with the observation.
What is the relationship between The Active Observatory and Active Advertiser Network?
The Active Observatory is the public research platform. Active Advertiser Network uses observable business context to help subscribers evaluate potential opportunities relevant to the services they offer. The public research itself remains separate from subscriber-specific opportunity evaluation.
Record stewardship
Something in a business record needs attention?
If you represent a business in The Active Observatory, you can report an incorrect match, request a factual correction, or request an Authority Review from the business record itself.